Apple broke me heart on the 14th of September when they didn’t announce anything on the iPad Pro line. Depressed and angry, I swore not to use the iPad Pro until it did.
Like I’d do that, lol!
On a serious note, I am currently not using my iPad Pro for class. But it has nothing to do with Apple and more to do with my professor. He doesn’t like technology, and I am trying not to get on his bad side.
I had to purchase a paper notebook and some pens. I bought four black pens to make sure that I liked at least one that’d actually use. The first pen I tried worked like a charm, but now I don’t know what I’ll do with the other three.
I have been paperless for three years, so this change is very uncomfortable.
When studying at home, my setup includes my laptop, a notebook, and a black pen. Studying has really been difficult for a couple of reasons:
- One pen colour is not enough for taking sensible notes.
- At the back of my head, I feel like this is not the right way of doing things. So it’s difficult to get into the study mood. I am writing fewer notes because I feel it’s pointless to write on paper if I am going to throw it out.
- My notes are very messy. I am used to the undo gestures in Notability, and I find myself trying to undo every mistake I make. I am not even sure I’ll get anything out of these notes once my rotation is over, which is annoying because my professor is actually a great teacher. I really miss recording audio in Notability.
- I have been going to class with just this small notebook. So when the teacher refers to a topic we covered last semester, I can’t switch to it to add more notes or refer to what the professor is talking about.
- I am always lost during class because I feel under-equipped. My iPad Pro has ALL MY NOTES, FOR ALL MY SUBJECTS! I miss my digital textbooks. When I write questions for the professor during my study, it’s difficult to show the professor exactly what I am referring to without a copy of the lecture (which is on my iPad).
- I miss my iPad Pro. Of course, I see it every day, but it hurts that I don’t use it.
Many of my professors have encouraged me to use physical textbooks rather than electronic ones, claiming that they are better for retaining knowledge. I think that was probably the case ten, maybe five, years ago before this digital handwriting technology came along.
My productivity is currently limited by tangible textbooks, pen, and paper. When I can simply tap the colour I want on an iPad, why would I go through my pen collection to locate the right shade?
I should talk about advantages too, right? Let me think…
My bag is lighter than it usually is because my 12.9-inch iPad Pro is heavier than the A5 notebook I am currently using. I also don’t worry about people pushing and squeezing against my bag on the bus since there’s nothing to break. That puts my mind at ease.
